c. 1600, from Greek strophe "stanza," originally "a turning," in reference to the section of an ode sung by the chorus while turning in one direction, from strephein "to turn," from PIE root *streb(h)- "to wind, turn."
-ic
Middle English -ik, -ick, word-forming element making adjectives, "having to do with, having the nature of, being, made of, caused by, similar to," from French -ique and directly from Latin -icus or from cognate Greek -ikos "in the manner of; pertaining to." From PIE adjective suffix *-(i)ko, which also yielded Slavic -isku, adjectival suffix indicating origin, the source of the -sky (Russian -skii) in many surnames. In chemistry, indicating a higher valence than names in -ous (first in benzoic, 1791).
In Middle English and after often spelled -ick, -ike, -ique. Variant forms in -ick (critick, ethick) were common in early Modern English and survived in English dictionaries into early 19c. This spelling was supported by Johnson but opposed by Webster, who prevailed.
*streb(h)-
Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to wind, turn."
It forms all or part of: anastrophe; antistrophe; apostrophe (n.1); apostrophe (n.2); boustrophedon; catastrophe; epistrophe; strabismus; strap; strep; strepto-; streptococcus; streptomycin; strobe; strobic; stroboscope; strop; strophe; strophic.
It is the hypothetical source of/evidence for its existence is provided by: Greek strophe "stanza," originally "a turning," strephein "to turn," strophaligs "whirl, whirlwind," streblos "twisted," stremma "that which is twisted."